Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: blood preservation

  • Blood debt

    Jules ReichChicago, Illinois, United States In 1937, the first U.S. blood bank opened in Chicago. It was originally called a Blood Preservation Laboratory, but its founder, Dr. Bernard Fantus, changed the name to blood bank. For someone who spent a large part of his exceptional career working on ways to make medicine taste better for…

  • Bloody segregation: The story of how Charles Richard Drew found life abundantly

    Amy DeMattGreensburg, Pennsylvania, United States “Desperation, weakness, vulnerability – these things will always be exploited. You need to protect the weak, ring-fence them, with something far stronger than empathy.”—Zadie Smith What if, instead of simply practicing empathy, you could literally become a part of someone else? What if you could join a part of your…

  • Blood and war: Preserving plasma and humanity

    Navanjana SiriwardaneCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada Amidst the fighting and chaotic nature of World War II, the need for proper blood banking was greater than ever. Millions of soldiers were dying without proper blood transfusions, and the cost of saving many lives was in the hands of the Red Cross. Dr. Charles Richard Drew was…